Friday, 30 January 2009

I love bread sauce, but it seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent years. It's a great addition to any roast and is also fantastic re-heated the next day to have with the leftovers. It's best made the day before so the flavours can infuse properly.

Ingredients:

500ml milk

1 onion, peeled and cut in half

20 whole cloves

10 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

50g butter, chopped

110g white breadcrumbs, best made from a couple days old stale loaf

3 tbsp double cream

Method:

Put the milk in a pan and start to heat it on a gentle heat.

Push the cloves into the onion half.

Place the butter, onion with cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf into the milk.

Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Remove the onion, peppercorns and bayleaf. Don't worry if you can't find all the cloves or peppercorns, they'll just add texture to the sauce!

Stir in the breadcrumbs and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce gets really thick.

Place the onion and bay leaf back into the sauce and put in the fridge overnight.

Just before you need the bread sauce, remove the onion and bay leaf and stir in the cream.

Reheat on a medium heat, stirring regularly. Alternatively reheat in the microwave on full power for 5 minutes.

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

Making great roast potatoes is a great skill. It took me over three years to master, but hopefully this recipe will allow you to make them perfect first time.

Ingredients:

400g Potatoes, Maris Piper, Desirée or King Edwards are good

400g Parsnips

80g Sunflower Oil

Method:

Put on a big pot of water to boil, do not add salt.

Divide the oil between two roasting tins (or add it to one big roasting tin if you have one) and put them in an oven set at 220 degrees. If you're in any doubt about if one roasting tin is large enough then you probably need a second one. You need to be able to put the potatoes and parsnips in the tin with a bit of space around them.

Peel and chop the potatoes and parsnips into 'reasonable' sized chunks. I'd recommend having them at most an inch thick.

When the water is boiling put the potatoes and parsnips into it.

Let the potatoes and parsnips cook for 10 minutes. Start timing as soon as they go in, otherwise you might overcook them.

Drain the potatoes and parsnips and then with the lid on the pan shake the pan around. This should fluff up the outside of the potatoes and parsnips, which is key to getting a good crisp roast outside.

Take the roasting tin(s) out of the oven one at a time. Place them over a hob which is on (to keep the oil hot) and carefully place the potatoes and parsnips in it.

Turn the potatoes and parsnips in the tin to make sure they get a good coating of oil. They should be sizzling nicely as the very hot oil seals their outside.

Roast for 50 minutes, turning the vegetables after 25 minutes and swapping over the shelves that the roasting tins are on if you have two.

Friday, 23 January 2009

No roast is complete without a nice lump of stuffing. This is my favorite type of stuffing, and it's so easy to make.

Ingredients:

30g butter

3 onions, finely chopped (I like the colour of red onions)

200g (8 thick slices or so) of breadcrumbs

3 tbsp fresh or dried sage

1 egg

Method:

Melt the butter in a sauce pan.

Add the onion and gently fry with the lid on (sweating the onions).

When the onions are nice and soft add the breadcrumbs and sage and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat.

Beat the egg separately and then stir into the breadcrumb and onion mixture.

Press the mixture into a pre-buttered oven proof dish, making sure the center is higher than the edges.

Either place the stuffing in an oven at between 180 degrees and 220 degrees for 30 minutes or microwave for 10 minutes then wait 5 minutes, then microwave for another 10 minutes. Oven is best as it makes the top nice and crispy.